UCSI University students were the second-runner ups. The awards included a trophy and a holiday package

Kuala Lumpur, 05 December 2009 - UCSI University’s Faculty of Management and IT students clinched the 2^nd runner-up prize at the recent ARIES Malaysia Business IT Case Challenge held from 2^nd to 5^th December 2009, organised by the Academic Research Innovation and Enrichment Society (ARIES), Malaysia. The competition was an inaugural business IT case competition hosted by the Malaysian Institute of Information Technology (MIIT), Universiti Kuala Lumpur.

UCSI University’s team consisted of Ahmad H.H. Dazayi and Sara Yeap Th’eng Th’eng, 3^rd year students from UCSI University’s Business Information Systems course, and Shin Yi How, a 3^rd year Computing student. Their preparations for the Competition only began in earnest after their final examinations and half-way through their industrial training module.

A total of 16 teams competed in the event that was divided into 4 divisions and 3 rounds. The top teams from each division entered the finals. The team from UCSI University beat 5 other teams in its division to emerge top in Division C to qualify for the final round.

According to the UCSI University students, the third day was the most gruelling as they were given the case studies for Rounds 1 and 2 at 7 a.m. They had only 24 hours to “crack” the case using an IT system and to present each case to the panel of judges. During the final round, students had to condense their two previous presentations and answer rapid-fire questions from the judges.

Prior to the competition, all participants were required to attend a forum on Rapid Business Improvement from IT Spectrum to enable them to understand their cases more easily. This event was supported by IT bigwigs such as Microsoft and Cisco, while the judges were from Price Waterhouse Coopers, Scomi Group, AmBank Group and Public Mutual Bhd.

According to Sara Yeap, the competition was a real eye-opener for all of them. “It showed us the needs of the corporate world and how they use Information Systems to achieve their business objectives and goals. I’ve increased my understanding on the importance of correct strategies for business processes according to various requirements and budgets,” Sarah also says that the competition has helped her benchmark her skills against experts in the industry and taught her how to manage time effectively.

Universities participating in the event included International Islamic University, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Universiti Utara Malaysia and Sunway University College.